The present disclosure relates to control of manufacturing tools, and more specifically, to controlling manufacturing tools to follow a mark line disposed on a surface of a workpiece.
As demand increases for higher performance products at reasonable cost, products may have to be constructed from components that may have to be more precisely shaped while also being more economical to produce. In order to form components exceeding these requirements, an incomplete component, herein called a “workpiece” may undergo one or more manufacturing operations to remove extraneous material from the workpiece to form a finished component. One manufacturing operation may include removing extraneous material of the workpiece by moving at least one of a material removal component and the workpiece relative to each other upon a predetermined trajectory, in some embodiments called a “tool path,” to remove the extraneous material. The predetermined trajectory may be accomplished, for example, by computer numerical control (CNC).
Sometimes workpieces include complex shapes and sizes that are challenging to manufacture because of a difficulty to locate the predetermined trajectory relative to the workpiece. A mark line (also known as a “scribe line”), for example a groove or scribe upon a surface of the workpiece, may serve as a location reference for the predetermined trajectory to ensure the predetermined trajectory may be precisely located upon the workpiece. Sometimes the mark line may be located upon a workpiece surface which faces the material removal component. In this situation, the mark line and machine removal component are proximate to each other. A proximate relationship conveniently enabling manufacturing personnel to ensure that the mark line and the material removal component are aligned along the predetermined trajectory resulting in efficient and precise removal of extraneous material may occur with precision.
Sometimes the mark line is located on a workpiece surface opposite the material removal component. Issues may arise in this case, because it may be difficult to precisely align the predetermined trajectory to the mark line. If misaligned, essential material may be inadvertently removed from the workpiece, resulting in rework or destruction of the workpiece.